Scottish Parliament

Written Answers

Monday 11 October 1999

Scottish Executive

Community Care

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to grant the application by the Federation of Small Businesses for the setting up of an inquiry under Section 211 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1973 into the manner and consequences of the divestment or "externalisation" of 11 residential homes formerly run by Dumfries and Galloway Council.

Iain Gray: We have written to the Federation indicating appropriate approaches. In relation to claims that individuals are being denied their right of choice of home it is open to the individuals or their representatives to raise the issue through the Social Service Department’s complaints procedure. General complaints against councils’ decisions may be taken up with each council’s Chief Executive. Breaches of statute or codes of practice may be taken up with the council’s monitoring officer. Claims of injustice as a result of maladministration may be referred to the Local Government Ombudsman. In relation to the financial and tendering concerns raised by the Federation I understand the Controller of Audit has already initiated an audit. In these circumstances I do not consider an inquiry under section 211 would be appropriate at this time.

Crime

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its view is on the extent to which the increase in violent crime of 17.5% in attempted murders, 9.25% in serious assaults, and 12.7% in robberies across Strathclyde last year can be attributed to cuts in funding which leave Strathclyde Police 350 officers below the establishment deemed appropriate to provide adequate policing.

Mr Jim Wallace: Grant aided expenditure to forces last year was increased by 2.4%. Most forces reported an increase in recorded crime but some did not. There was therefore no question of funding being cut nor any apparent relationship between trends in funding and trends in recorded crime. In the case of Strathclyde the Chief Constable’s Annual Report for 1998-99 records the positive measures taken to deal with increased recorded crime, with encouraging results, which are a testimony to the success of the Chief Constable and his force in tackling crime in Strathclyde. These included a new force corporate strategy and planning framework and the launch of a major initiative in October 1998 targeted on housebreaking and drugs related crime. The force achieved an increase in detection rates, to 43.2%, for the year which was the highest in the history of the force and there was also a significant slow down in the increase in crime. Information recently released by the force shows a further increase in detection rates during the period April to June 1999, with a 44.4% detection rate and a reduction in recorded crime of 6% on the equivalent period last year.

Education

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the grant aided schools it funds and the funding it has provided to each school in the last three years for which figures are available.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive currently provides financial support to seven grant aided special schools and provides 100% funding to Jordanhill School by means of grant aid. The information requested is given in the table below.

  


PAYMENTS TO GRANT AIDED SPECIAL 

  SCHOOLS (£) 




Schools 


1996-97 

  


1997-98 

  


1998-99 

  





Revenue 

  


Capital 

  


Revenue 

  


Capital 

  


Revenue 

  


Capital 

  




Corseford 

  

881,217 

  

174,187 

  

892,320 

  

26,394 

  

933,851 

  

- 

  



Craighalbert 

  

393,518 

  

33,939 

  

402,713 

  

7,203 

  

425,091 

  

21,622 

  



Donaldsons 

  

874,177 

  

- 

  

905,366 

  

26,305 

  

904,740 

  

158,956 

  



East Park 

  

1,139,772 

  

28,635 

  

1,682,995* 

  

- 

  

1,009,550 

  

28,000 

  



Harmeny 

  

531,443 

  

86,903 

  

597,763 

  

469,365 

  

640,158 

  

707,869 

  



Royal Blind 

  

1,364,162 

  

72,940 

  

1,364,534 

  

- 

  

1,513,998 

  

9,000 

  



Stanmore 

  

1,011,115 

  

100,892 

  

1,018,839 

  

58,659 

  

1,081,810 

  

- 

  



TOTAL 

  

6,195,404 

  

497,496 

  

6,864,530 

  

587,926 

  

6,509,198 

  

925,447 

  



  * includes advance payments for 1998-99 to East Park

  


PAYMENTS TO JORDANHILL SCHOOL 

  (£) 




School 


1996-97 

  


1997-98 

  


1998-99 

  



 

Revenue 

  

Capital 

  

Revenue 

  

Capital 

  

Revenue 

  

Capital 

  



Jordanhill 

  

2,596,426 

  

80,779 

  

2,648,355 

  

79,889 

  

2,716,458 

  

83,441

Education

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the independent special schools it funds and the funding it has provided to each school in the last three years for which figures are available.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive does not fund any independent special schools.

Enterprise

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many representatives from Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, each Local Enterprise Company, and each Education Business Partnership attended the annual conference of Education Business Partnerships in North America in each of the last three years, and what was the total cost of their attendance.

Henry McLeish: The Enterprise Network has not been represented at the North America conference in the past 3 years. However, a senior member of staff from the Scottish Education Business Partnership Network has attended in his capacity as a member of the International Partnership Network. Costs for his attendance were met from the International Partnership Network’s own resources and not from Education Business Partnerships.

Health

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive to specify the capital and revenue costs which will fall on water authorities, health boards and other public agencies in Scotland as a result of fluoridation and whether additional resources will be made available to each of the foregoing to offset these costs.

Susan Deacon: Health boards would be responsible for the capital costs incurred by water authorities in providing the treatment technology necessary to ensure that fluorides are added to water supplies accurately and safely and for revenue costs. Health boards promoting applications to fluoridate would also face the costs of consulting the public and any other administrative costs. Standing guidance indicates that central government will consider providing assistance to health boards of up to 60 per cent of the capital costs incurred in a fluoridation scheme.

Justice

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will amend the law relating to the expiry of commercial leases to give tenants the opportunity to continue trading from premises on a new lease after expiry and, if it has no immediate plans to do so, whether it will consult regarding the factors involved in providing more opportunity for tenants of commercial premises to have continuity of trading from the premises they rent.

Mr Jim Wallace: There are currently no plans to amend the law relating to security of tenure on the expiry of commercial leases in Scotland, nor do we intend to consult on such matters as these are primarily for individual tenants and their landlords to negotiate when drawing up leasehold contracts.

Justice

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will seek to prohibit the use of "upward only" provisions in rent review clauses in commercial leases and, if it has no immediate plans to do so, whether it will consult as to the present and future impact of "upward only" provisions in rent review clauses in commercial leases, in particular with regard to secondary retail locations whose business is affected by the growth in modern shopping centres.

Mr Jim Wallace: There are no plans at present to seek to prohibit the use of "upward only" provisions in rent review clauses in commercial leases nor is there an intention to consult on this matter.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many written questions submitted between 6 May and 6 September received a reply, other than a holding answer, within (a) seven days, (b) fourteen days, (c) twenty one days, (d) twenty eight days, and (e) twenty eight days or more, and whether it considers that it is reasonable for MSPs to wait for periods substantially in excess of 14 days for answers to written questions.

Donald Dewar: This information is not readily available but could be provided by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe). All efforts are made to ensure Members receive a response to Written Questions within fourteen days.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that all written questions are answered within 14 days.

Donald Dewar: The Executive makes every effort to give a substantive reply to all written questions within fourteen days. This may not be possible in some circumstances, for example where the necessary data takes some time to gather, in which case a holding reply is issued.

Regional Selective Assistance

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will propose to Her Majesty’s Government that the appraisal methodology for Regional Selective Assistance be jointly reviewed in order to address the issues arising from the Viasystems case.

Henry McLeish: The Department of Trade and Industry, the National Assembly for Wales and the Scottish Executive administer Regional Selective Assistance to common guidelines. As part of the liaison between these Departments issues arising from unusual individual cases are considered carefully to ensure continual improvement in the operation of the scheme.